When the Kansas coaches starting recruiting Daniel Hishaw, he was putting up big numbers as a quarterback at Moore High in Oklahoma.
But the Kansas coaches knew his future would be at running back.
Hishaw threw for close to 4000 yards in his career at Moore and added over 2000 rushing yards. If Brent Dearmon ever wants to dial up a trick play and use Hishaw to throw the ball he’s all in.
“Yeah, I can (throw it), but it's whatever he wants to call,” Hishaw said. “So, if he wants to get me in there and throw it, I'll go throw it.”
Before Hishaw moved to running back in high school he was familiar with the position. Going back to his youth and middle school days, he remembered carrying the football.
“It's not hard,” he said. “When I was a kid, I was a running back and just switched over to QB just to do it because I liked it. Now that I'm back at it, it’s just going back to the basics. Nothing I haven’t done before.”
The change back to running back and getting on the field has been sped up after Pooka Williams opted out and Velton Gardner has been battling an injury for much of the season.
Hishaw was third on the depth chart to begin the season, but circumstances have pushed him to the top spot.
“At the beginning of season, I definitely wanted to play,” he said. “But I know I had two, really, good dudes in front of me, but anything can happen in football. So that just happened with me this year. It happens for the good, but sometimes for the team.”
Hishaw said you have to go by the “next man up” thinking when you are playing college football. You are one injury, or positive Covid-19 test away from moving up the depth chart every day.
He credits learning from Williams and Gardner, who helped get him prepared to play as a true freshman.
“There is a lot to learn as a freshman, but it's not very hard to really get into it once you get going,” Hishaw said. “Especially since I had guys like Pooka and Velton in front of me showing me a lot of things to do. Those were some good running backs we've had. And so, it was a lot at first, but it's getting pretty easy now that I'm sinking into it.”
Hishaw is one of just 27 true freshmen who have played for Kansas this season. Only Clemson has played as many. The next closest team is Air Force who has played 22.
Les Miles has stayed with the plan building his program with high school players. Going through a tough season hasn’t changed Hishaw’s vision how success can happen in the future.
“We envision winning seasons, going to bowl games and eventually winning a championship,” he said. “That's what we envision here.
“To be able to win, you’ve got to take a loss. We are taking all these losses right now, but we are just in the first year for us as freshmen. A lot of the guys here, they see us, and they know the potential that we have to help them change it. We all just need to come together, and we know it takes time. You’ve just got to trust it.”
